Motel rouge

Saw this in the horror section of video store and it looked worth a rental. It was. A poor young German chick and her newlywed husband go on their honeymoon in New Mexico. The lady innkeeper is way too friendly, so you sort of suspect something is up with her. Later, an ambulance appears out of nowhere and kidnaps the hubby away. The wife pleads to the innkeeper for help, but now the innkeeper claims she doesn't know the wife, even though she just rented her a room! In a bizarre twist (yet it works well), the wife ends up hitching a ride with Sierra Bill, a good ol' boy trucker. So you got this redneck Texan helping a German student who's looking for her Princeton husband. Anyway, they come up with a pretty cool plan. It gets suspenseful and a bit confusing, but all is explained in the end. Jutta Spiedel surprised me as a really good actress, considering I did not know her work before this film. Good stuff

Going by the title, you would be forgiven for thinking this film would be some sort of grisly slasher; but actually (and disappointingly) it's a subdued made-for-TV thriller that bears more than just a passing similarity to Michael Crichton's 1978 film, Coma. The film is directed by Rainer Erler and is a German made film; although it takes place in Texas, USA. Being a TV film, you've got to expect it not to be heavy on the gore and special effects; and this is the case. Spare Parts relies on the plot and its characters to remain thrilling...and unfortunately it doesn't really pull it off effectively. The plot focuses on a newlywed couple having their honeymoon in Texas. They stop at a motel and meet the friendly proprietor; shortly before an ambulance swings by and abducts the husband. The girl goes back to the motel for help; but the proprietor insists she's never seen her before. The woman ends up getting a lift with a trucker, who helps her get to the bottom of the mystery.

This plot has been done several times; not only in the aforementioned Coma, but also in later efforts such as Larry Clark's The Ambulance. The film feels very cheap throughout, and never manages to get past its TV movie status. At one hundred and five minutes, it really has to be said that the film is too long also; and it becomes less than interesting before the end. The central character; a young German woman is fairly likable, although despite the long running time; we don't really get to know a great deal about her. The plot certainly could have been very interesting, but not a great deal is made of it. There's very little suspense in the film either and that doesn't exactly help the film when it comes to the excitement stakes. To its credit, however, the plot does at least make sense throughout and the film does feature an ending that wraps everything up nicely. Spare Parts is not an easy film to find and to be honest I wouldn't recommend anyone bothers to track it down - Coma is (slightly) better anyway!

In yet another case of 'great idea, shame about the execution' this drama/thriller about secret organ dealers kidnapping unsuspecting people to harvest their body parts might've been much better with a more cohesive plot, much less filler (like, for instance, a five minute run through New York for some reason) and well-developed characters.

Oh, and the dubbing is TERRIBLE. Sheesh. 4/10

I was drawn to watch this movie in part because it was a foreign production filmed and set in America, and that promised that the movie would have a unique angle. The portrayal of America is surprisingly balanced - there is a deep and deadly conspiracy in the story, but the movie does give us plenty of innocent and helpful American characters at the same time. Unfortunately, this interesting balance is about the only good thing I can say about the movie. Certainly I can't blame the filmmakers for the atrocious dubbing, but they are guilty of other things. At 105 minutes, the movie is way too long (and slow) for its own good. Along this tedious journey are some real unbelievable plot elements like the fact the protagonists don't consider contacting the police until very late into the story. The movie is also directed with no sense of style, with no tension or any great feelings coming from the movie at any moment - it always feel flat. It's capped off with one of the worst opening/closing credits songs I have ever heard in a motion picture. There is the occasional hint of a decent (though not original) thriller here, but as a whole it simply does not work.

The opening scenes of this film are pure cheesecake with soul music, people frolicking through the street and dogs trying to grab wedding bouquets. There's some cheesy dubbing as well. It eventually settles down into a more serious affair after a sinister ambulance abducts one half of a honeymooning couple. The girl, Monica, gets away and eventually garners the help of trucker Bill and his trucking buddies in finding out where the ambulance took her husband.

This is a pretty good film which kept me on edge throughout, as the characters were really likable. Good cinematography and a moody score help it along, and the story here is intriguing... certainly a hell of a lot moreso than the somewhat similar 1980 piece of garbage, Cardiac Arrest. If you find a copy, give it a look.